Chinese outfit Tencent has released its operating system for smartphones and smartwatches as it tries to take a slice of the mobile market behind the bamboo curtain.

TOS+, provides voice recognition and includes payment systems and Chief Operating Officer Mark Ren said during the Global Mobile Internet Conference in Beijing that it will tap Tencent's stronghold in online gaming by including virtual reality and supporting play on televisions.

"Tencent will be a connector. We want to make an open platform to connect all people, devices and services," he said.

The Shenzhen-based outfit has stakes in Activision Blizzard Inc. and Riot Games intends to push the software into devices including smart glasses, Ren said.

WeChat and QQ have more than 1 billion users combined, and Chairman Ma Huateng is finding new ways to make money through advertising, payment services and partnerships with Alibaba shopping competitor JD.com..

Following Alibaba

Alibaba, also developed its own operating system, called YunOS which it is planning to have installed on tens of millions of smartphones in the long term.

Online games such as FarmVille and World of Warcraft are being used by criminals to launder dirty money money, according to New South Wales coppers.

Apparently criminals have discovered that buying and selling virtual items is a growing new way of cleaning dirty money. NSW Police Detective Superintendent Commander Colin Dyson it was a "relatively new" trend provided an "emerging opportunity for criminals".

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, police were looking into how criminals are exploiting that Internet opportunity. Dyson said criminals were using online virtual worlds to communicate and transfer funds around the world.

So if a dwarf comes up to you and offers to flog you a dodgy hammer, or wants you to go on a bank raid which does not involve magic or a dragon you will know why.

While the PC players of the recently released Vietnam expansion pack for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 were able to win the community challenge and complete the 69 million support actions, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 players were still working toward getting the Operation Hastings map unlocked.

Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 players will have to work no more, as DICE has unlocked the Operation Hastings map for both platforms, although they didn’t achieve the support actions goal. DICE claims that they chose to unlock the Operation Hastings map early, as they wanted to start the New Year off with a bang.

While no exact numbers have been released by either DICE or publisher Electronic Arts on how well the add-on pack for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 sold, whispers that we hear seem to indicate that sales have been a bit better than expected for the PC platform and a bit behind what they expected on the Xbox 360; and PlayStation 3 sales have lagged a bit.

Still, if you have not purchased the Vietnam add-on and you are a fan of the series, you will not be disappointed; we have spent a lot of time over the holiday playing it and we can tell you that it is well with it.